


As Close to perfect as it gets

by crazycatt71



Series: Mandatory Funday [6]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: APPLE CIDER, Cider Mill, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Mandatory Fun Day, Road Trips, happy boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-10-10 18:47:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20532815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crazycatt71/pseuds/crazycatt71
Summary: A road trip to a cider mill. Happy feelings.





	As Close to perfect as it gets

**Author's Note:**

> For Mandatory Fun Day  
Starting Labor Day weekend, the cider mills in Michigan start pressing cider so that's where I sent the boys because one of the greatest things about autumn is apple cider and cinnamon sugar doughnuts

“Pack a bag, enough for a week.” Clint told Bucky as he rushed into their rooms at the Avenger’s compound.

Bucky looked up from where he was sprawled on the couch, reading, his eyebrows raised in confusion.

“Mission?” he asked.

“Nope.” Clint said as he headed into the bedroom.

Bucky followed after him.

“So why do I need to pack a bag?” he asked.

“Because we’re making a run for it,” Clint said, throwing a duffle bag at him. “unless you want to attend the latest Stark smile and flesh press.”

Bucky shuddered at their name for the charity parties that required them to dress up, smile for the press, and mingle with a bunch of boring society people. He went over to his dresser and began taking clothes out of the drawers, shoving them into his bag. With in a hour they had loaded their bags, a cooler, a couple sleeping bags, various other camping equipment, and Lucky into a 70s era station wagon and headed down the road. Bucky was surprised when Clint plugged his phone into a very modern radio that looked like alien tech in the dashboard of the beat-up old car.

“Gott’a have good tunes on a road trip.” Clint explained as Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run poured out of high-quality speakers.

“Where are we going?” Bucky asked.

“That way.” Clint replied, pointing at the windshield.

Bucky snorted in amusement; trusting his boyfriend, he tied his hair back, put his window down, and settled back to enjoy the ride. The warm sun shining through the window, the motion of the car, and Clint’s pleasant singing voice soon lulled him to sleep. He woke up when Lucky jumped over the seat, barking. 

“Pit stop.” Clint announced, opening his door and getting out, Lucky right behind him.

Bucky got out of the car, looking around. They were in a parking lot of a roadside café. Lucky sniffed at a few trees while Clint stretched. After Lucky had disturbed a couple squirrels and watered a few trees, they put him in the car and headed into the café for lunch. A display case of baked goods and the smell of greasy hamburgers had Bucky almost drooling as they sat down at a table near the windows. A motherly looking waitress in a bright pink apron came over to them.

“What’s good?” Clint asked as Bucky looked at a menu.

“Most everything.” She replied. “The burgers are good, so’s the chili.”

“Ok, I want a double burger with everything and an order of chili cheese fries and coffee.” Clint told her. “Oh, and two plain burgers for the fuzz ball.”

He pointed at Lucky who had his head hanging out the car window, tongue lolling in a doggy grin

“Two of the burgers, onion rings, a bowl of chili, and a coke.” Bucky told her.

She gave him a raised eyebrow at his order but didn’t say anything. Bucky moaned with delight at the explosion of meaty goodness that hit his taste buds when he took his first bite. There was just something special about a small café burger that couldn’t be beat. After eating, they fed Lucky and headed out.

Bucky realized they were deep in the country, on an old back road, as they passed old, red barns, herds of cows, looking like a group of old women standing around gossiping, and fields of crops waiting to be harvested. He grinned as a young horse raced the car, running along the fence between it and the road, tail and mane streaming in the wind. He waved good bye out the window when it stopped at the end of its pasture.

Clint made a turn on to a gravel road that was rough enough to have Bucky worrying about the car’s suspension. Before he could suggest turning around, they rounded a bend to reveal a parking lot full of cars and a billboard welcoming them to a pick your own fruit orchard and cider mill. Clint pulled into a parking spot, turned off the car, and got out, clipping a leash to Lucky’s collar. before he could escape.

“Smell that.” Clint said, taking a deep breath. “Smells so good.”

Bucky inhaled, smelling apples and leaves and wood and that indescribable scent that was an eastern autumn. He smiled as Clint took his hand and they walked toward the cider mill. They tied Lucky to the fence surrounding a patio filled with families and headed into the mill, joining the line for free samples of cider.

“OH, man, that’s good.” Clint declared after his first drink.

Buck agreed. The flavor was just the right amount of tart and sweet and Bucky knew it was silly, but he swore he could taste the sunshine and rain that had helped grow the apples. Clint grabbed a gallon out of the cooler and headed for the bakery at the other end of the building, Bucky right behind him. Bucky gawked at the humongous selection of stuff with apple in it while Clint paid for the cider.

Bucky was so entranced that he didn’t even realize Clint had gotten doughnuts until they were sitting at a table on the patio beside where they had left Lucky; who was holding court over a group of kids who were showering him with all the attention he could ever want.

“I’m never leaving.” Clint declared after he had bitten into a cinnamon sugar covered doughnut, getting it all over his face and shirt. “Seriously. This place has everything I could ever need. Great cider, fried doughy goodness, my boyfriend, and my dog, it’s perfect.”

Bucky laughed as he leaned into kiss him, tasting the sweetness of the doughnut on his lips.

“You’d miss pizza and beer.” He said as he sat back.

“They have pizza at their café next door, I saw the menu,” Clint announced, “and they make their own hard cider and wine.”

Bucky looked around at Lucky soaking up the attention from the kids, at the happy families enjoying the day, then back at Clint with the sun turning his hair in to a golden glow, the freckles on his tanned face and the happy grin on his face making him look carefree and young. The day had that shine that some days just seem to get, when everything was just right. Life may not always be perfect but this one moment in time was about as close to it as it got.


End file.
